What is a cardiac ablation? A doctor explains Terry Francona’s procedure

CLEVELAND—Indians manager Terry Francona is resting comfortably at the Cleveland Clinic after undergoing a heart procedure (cardiac ablation) on Thursday afternoon to correct an irregular heartbeat. Doctors detected the arrhythmia after monitoring Francona’s heart rhythm over the past several weeks.

“An ablation means that catheters are used to target and ablate or destroy tiny areas of heart tissue so that the rhythm cannot recur,” said Dr. Dina Sparano a Cardiologist at University Hospitals.

It’s important to note that Dr. Sparano is not treating Terry Francona and did not perform the procedure he had done on Thursday.

“The catheter delivers radio frequency energy to destroy these areas of heart tissue and the goal is to either cure or at least minimize the burden of the arrhythmia.”

Francona will not manage the All-Star game next week in Miami. He is expected to make a full recovery and should be discharged from the hospital in the coming days. The team expects he should be ready to return to the bench beginning on Friday, July, 14, when the team begins a 6-game road trip against the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants.

Francona left two games last month due to a rapid heart rate and dizziness. He underwent several tests earlier this week at the Cleveland Clinic to determine the status of his ailments before undergoing the heart procedure on Thursday.